This proposal requests support to establish services, programs and research which will provide high quality experimental animals and facilities commensurate with the biomedical research being conducted at the University. The goal of the unit is to develop a program of excellence in animal medicine which encompasses service, research and teaching. Objectives of the project are improved animal health, studies on animal diseases, the identification of new animal models of human diseases and the development of educational resources for training in laboratory animal medicine and comparative pathology. Specific aims include the implementation of a preventive medical program which places prevention of disease foremost and accepts treatment only as second best, an investigation of naturally-occurring diseases in rabbits, and studies on the effects of selected rodent viruses, e.g., Sendai virus, on the immunologic competence of the host. These latter two conditions were selected because of their complicating effects to biomedical research using rabbits and rodents. In addition, a large number of rabbits are regularly used at this University, i.e., an average daily population of 646 with 4,561 used during calendar year 1977. Noteworthy collaborative agreements include the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University (post-doctoral training) and the Regional Primate Research Center (comparative pathology section).